Principal Financial Group Inc. Sells 31,420 Shares of Mueller Industries, Inc. (NYSE:MLI)

Principal Financial Group Inc. lessened its stake in shares of Mueller Industries, Inc. (NYSE:MLI - Free Report) by 5.2% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 575,889 shares of the industrial products company's stock after selling 31,420 shares during the quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned 0.51% of Mueller Industries worth $42,673,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of MLI. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its stake in Mueller Industries by 36.0% during the third quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 552 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $41,000 after buying an additional 146 shares during the last quarter. Miller Howard Investments Inc. NY boosted its holdings in shares of Mueller Industries by 2.1% in the 2nd quarter. Miller Howard Investments Inc. NY now owns 7,188 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $409,000 after acquiring an additional 151 shares in the last quarter. Kapitalo Investimentos Ltda grew its position in Mueller Industries by 3.5% during the 3rd quarter. Kapitalo Investimentos Ltda now owns 4,582 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $340,000 after acquiring an additional 156 shares during the last quarter. GM Advisory Group LLC increased its holdings in Mueller Industries by 5.3% during the 3rd quarter. GM Advisory Group LLC now owns 3,792 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $281,000 after purchasing an additional 192 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Hsbc Holdings PLC raised its position in Mueller Industries by 1.8% in the 2nd quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 13,188 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $757,000 after purchasing an additional 233 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 94.50% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Separately, Northcoast Research upgraded Mueller Industries from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $105.00 target price on the stock in a report on Wednesday, December 11th.

Mueller Industries Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE MLI traded down $0.56 during trading on Monday, reaching $79.62. The company had a trading volume of 749,849 shares, compared to its average volume of 864,416. Mueller Industries, Inc. has a 52 week low of $44.39 and a 52 week high of $96.81. The business's 50 day moving average price is $83.08 and its 200-day moving average price is $71.61. The stock has a market cap of $9.06 billion, a PE ratio of 15.46 and a beta of 0.99.

Mueller Industries (NYSE:MLI - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 22nd. The industrial products company reported $1.48 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.32 by $0.16. Mueller Industries had a net margin of 16.39% and a return on equity of 23.25%. The firm had revenue of $997.80 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $936.00 million. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 21.7% compared to the same quarter last year.

Mueller Industries Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 20th. Investors of record on Friday, December 6th were paid a dividend of $0.20 per share. This represents a $0.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.00%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, December 6th. Mueller Industries's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 15.53%.

Insider Activity at Mueller Industries

In related news, Director Charles P. Herzog, Jr. sold 15,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, November 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $92.04, for a total value of $1,380,600.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 17,733 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,632,145.32. This represents a 45.83 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director John B. Hansen sold 1,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, October 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $83.09, for a total value of $83,090.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 94,914 shares in the company, valued at $7,886,404.26. The trade was a 1.04 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 2.80% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Mueller Industries Profile

Mueller Industries, Inc manufactures and sells copper, brass, aluminum, and plastic products in the United States, the United Kingdom, Canada, South Korea, the Middle East, China, and Mexico. It operates through three segments: Piping Systems, Industrial Metals, and Climate. The Piping Systems segment offers copper tubes, fittings, line sets, and pipe nipples.